


I sense there's trouble ahead

by BananasofThorns



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Dream is mentioned, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Panic Attacks, or just. angst idk, set after Ranboo's plot stream on jan 15th, that's not the main focus of the fic though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28794885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BananasofThorns/pseuds/BananasofThorns
Summary: When they crest the hill, the first thing Techno sees, stark against the snow, is a large hole dug where the dog kennel will eventually go.“Heh,” he blurts, and at the same time, Phil says, “Why the fuck is there just a giant hole?”“My lawn,” Techno complains, pulling his axe off his shoulder. The voices crescendo as he stalks forward. “What the fuck, man?”“That’s, like, right next to Ranboo’s shack,” Phil points out. Techno glances over his shoulder to see him following, sword in hand and wings spread defensively. “What the fuck happened?”Techno and Phil return from an adventure only to find a large hole in their yard, with Ranboo having a panic attack at the bottom.
Relationships: Ranboo & Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 532





	I sense there's trouble ahead

**Author's Note:**

> [title from Liar - The Arcadian Wild]
> 
> aaaaaa I speedran this fic last night (and then edited it this morning) after watching Ranboo's plot stream. enjoy!

“This was nice,” Techno decides, watching out of the corner of his eye as Phil waves goodbye to the villager he’d been trading with. “We haven’t been able to go on an adventure together in a while, just the two of us.”

It’s been at least a few centuries, probably. Techno can’t remember. Phil hums, jogging a few steps to catch up to where Techno is waiting. They set off out of the village and through the snow together; Techno purposefully walks slower so that he doesn’t leave Phil behind with his longer strides.

“It’s been a bit,” Phil agrees. “It’ll be nice to be home, though. I’m not used to travelling so far without flying.”

That’s the worst thing about Dream’s world, Techno thinks. The fact that Phil can’t fly unless given permission or in extreme circumstances. At least Phil is powerful enough to warp back to his own world whenever he wants; Techno’s long since stopped questioning his friend’s disappearances.

“We should talk to Dream about that.”

Phil hums. “Maybe.” He shakes his head. “I wonder what Ranboo’s been up to.”

Techno snorts softly, fingers twitching towards the axe slung over his shoulder. It’s not as well-crafted as the Axe of Peace, but for someone who, by all appearances, doesn’t have much experience with weaponsmithing, Ranboo did a pretty good job. The enchantments are surprisingly strong for having been done by a mortal, too. Techno hasn’t had to imbue them with his own power to keep them from fading, which is a nice change of pace from all the other mortal-crafted weapons he’s had on this world.

“He better not be stealin’ all my stuff,” he says, though there’s no heat behind his words. Unlike Tommy, Ranboo seems like the type of person who’d rather starve than take any food from Techno’s chests.

“Nah, he wouldn’t do that,” Phil assures nonetheless, grinning. “He’s a good kid.”

Techno grunts. He doesn’t actually think Ranboo’s that bad, and the voices agree, but he’s not about to admit that aloud, even to Phil. Besides, judging by the smugly pleased look on the man’s face, he already knows. Techno rolls his eyes. They continue their walk in silence, weaving through the spruce forest before cresting the hill bordering their property.

The first thing Techno sees, stark against the snow, is a large hole dug where the dog kennel will eventually go.

“ _ Heh,” _ he blurts, and at the same time, Phil says, “Why the fuck is there just a giant  _ hole?” _

“My  _ lawn,” _ Techno complains, pulling his axe off his shoulder. The voices crescendo as he stalks forward. “What the fuck, man?”

“That’s, like, right next to Ranboo’s shack,” Phil points out. Techno glances over his shoulder to see him following, sword in hand and wings spread defensively. “What the fuck happened?”

“You think I’d be this concerned if I knew? If this was Tommy, I am goin’ to stab him so hard next time I see him.”

Phil laughs under his breath, but Techno has known him long enough that he easily sees through the thin amusement; Phil is concerned, much more so than he would be if he was just worried about Techno’s lawn. The voices are worried, too, but they’re all shouting at the same time and Techno can’t make out any specific words. Just anger and concern.

The closer they get, the bigger the hole seems. It stretches from the side of the mountain to the fence on Ranboo’s shack, and Techno’s grip tightens on the handle of his axe as he steps carefully towards the edge.  _ Don’t hurt him, _ the voices scream, suddenly in unison, and Techno startles.

“I—” He glances into the hole and freezes. “Phil.”

Tucked into the wall at the edge of the pit, barely visible from Techno’s vantage point, is a chest, but what’s more concerning is the fact that Ranboo is collapsed before it, mud on his armor and a shovel discarded a few feet away. His hand is clamped over his mouth, but Techno can make out choked, muffled sobs as the hybrid rocks back and forth. Concern rises, sudden and overwhelming, in his chest, and he slings the axe back over his shoulder. The voices dim to low, murmured anger - not at Ranboo, but at whatever sent him into the state he’s in. 

Phil sheaths his sword. “Oh, gods.”

Techno swallows. “I don’t—” An enderman screech cuts through the air and he tenses. “Was that  _ him?” _

“Yeah. He said he does that when he gets stressed.”

“No shit,” Techno mutters to himself. Then, louder, “What do we do?”

He glances over at Phil, who shrugs, helpless. “He’s having a panic attack or something, I think. We need to calm him down.”

Phil climbs carefully into the pit and Techno jumps down after, following Phil’s lead as the man makes a wide berth around Ranboo’s side. Even when they get within two feet, the hybrid doesn’t react. They’re close enough now to hear what he’s saying; Techno isn’t phased by much, anymore, but the desperate, broken panic in his voice sets his nerves on edge. The voices scream, and Techno winces.  _ Calm down, _ he thinks, harsh.

“No,” Ranboo murmurs, still staring at the chest. “No, it can’t— no. No. That’s not...oh, gods. What have I done. What have I  _ done?” _

Phil steps forward, kneeling down. “Ranboo?” He asks softly. No response; sighing, Phil sets his hand carefully on the kid’s shoulder.

The moment Phil touches him, Ranboo startles, eyes going wide but still unfocused as he spins to face them. He scrambles back, reaching for the shovel. His mouth opens wide as he snarls; it’s a hellish mix of ghast and enderman screams, and Techno tilts his head, eyes narrowed.

“Get  _ away— _ ” The words come out garbled and half-unintelligible.

Phil backs off, raising his hands placatingly. “Hey, mate! Calm down, you’re alright, it’s just us.”

Ranboo stares, fist still clenched tight around the handle of the shovel. His normally polished armor is caked in so much dirt that the netherite looks dull. Techno squints, frowning; the tears on his face look almost pearly, cloudier than normal tears should be, and the skin beneath it looks slightly blistered, though it’s hard to tell for sure.  _ Enderboy, _ a voice whispers before it’s lost in the cacophony in Techno’s head.  _ Ghastboo, _ another adds. Multiple:  _ Water hurts. Water hurts. Water hurts. _

“It’s just us,” Phil repeats. Ranboo swallows.

“...Phil? Techno? Wh...what are you guys doing here?”

Techno raises an eyebrow. “It’s our house. What the fuck did you do to my lawn?”

“ _ Techno,” _ Phil hisses. Techno ignores him.

“I—” Ranboo’s voice breaks and he glances over at the chest, still half-buried in the dirt. Renewed tears begin to stream down his face. “I think I might’ve done something really bad.”

Phil frowns, raising an eyebrow at Techno, who shrugs. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t—” Ranboo cuts himself off abruptly, shaking his head. Softer, to himself, he mutters, “Can you trust them? You can, right? They...they gave you a home. But they were working with Dream.”

His voice breaks again on Dream’s name. Techno looks at Phil, suddenly very uncomfortable. He doesn’t know how to deal with... _ feelings _ very well. And this...something about it is hitting a bit too close to home. Phil smiles, weak but reassuring.

“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to,” he tells Ranboo.

“No, I— I probably should, huh? Uh.” Ranboo laughs, wiping the tears off his face; all it does is smear dirt over what Techno is now almost certain are faint burns. “Gods, where do I even  _ start? _ ”

“From the beginning would be good,” Techno suggests.

Ranboo snorts. “Yeah. Right. The beginning.” He sighs. “So you know how I have memory loss, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, there are times when I just...black out, I guess, and sometimes I wake up somewhere where I  _ definitely wasn’t _ when I went...unconscious, or whatever. Anyway. Uh. I can’t remember what happens during that time, obviously. But then I made my panic room and I started hearing voices.” Techno freezes. “A voice.  _ Dream’s _ voice.”

“What?” Phil sounds just as shocked as Techno feels. Ranboo laughs, bitter.

“Yeah. I, uh, I thought it was a hallucination, at first, but it turns out it’s apparently just...a manifestation of my consciousness trying to...fill the gaps in my memory, or something. I’m not really sure why it took on Dream’s voice, but it - he? - started telling me about all these bad things I’d done, like blow up the Community House, or help Dream with the TNT for Doomsday. And, obviously, I didn’t remember doing that, and I thought the voice was lying because I usually remember important things and,  _ that? _ That seemed pretty important!

“But, uh. I went back to the panic room today to try and confront it, because it had to have been lying, right?”

“Right,” Phil says. Ranboo scoffs.

“Yeah. But it said it was real, and that it was me, and that I just couldn’t remember, and it told me to  _ try _ and remember, so I did. And. I don’t remember everything, just...flashes, mostly, but I remember Dream. And the Nether. And...and he gave me something.”

“What was it?” Techno asks.

Ranboo grins humorlessly, tilting his head to the right, towards the chest. “Take a look for yourself.”

Techno grunts, walking over to the chest - still half-buried in the dirt - and kneeling down. The voices almost double in volume, suddenly, and he winces, knuckles going white on the edges of the wood. Slowly, he opens the lid, only to freeze when he sees what’s inside.

“A disc.”

“ _ The _ disc,” Ranboo corrects. “One of Tommy’s. I don’t...I can’t remember how long I’ve had it. Why would I— why would Dream give it to me? Why would I  _ take _ it from him and just. Hide it here, not give it back to Tommy? Why would I do  _ anything _ to help Dream? Why—”

_ God of manipulation and strife, _ Techno remembers suddenly, grimly, and when he looks at Phil, he knows the man is thinking the exact same thing.

Ranboo chokes back a sob. “What do I  _ do?” _

“Uh—”

“We can talk about that in a bit,” Phil decides. “Let’s get you inside and into less muddy clothes, first, okay? We’ll figure it out.”

“But—”

“We’ll talk about it later,” Phil promises. He holds out a hand and after a second of hesitation, Ranboo takes it, still clutching the shovel tight. “We should grab the disc, though. Do you have room in your ender chest?”

Ranboo frowns. “Uh— no, actually.”

“Techno?”

“Nope.”

Phil sighs. “Oh my gods, you’re both useless. Fine, I’ll take it then, hand it over.”

Ranboo laughs, startled, and Techno snorts as he carefully takes the disc from the chest and hands it over. Phil tucks it into his inventory - Ranboo stares, wide-eyed, as the item ripples and disappears into quickly-fading light - and glances around at the walls of the pit.

“How are we gonna get out of here?”

“Oh, uh—” Ranboo steps forward, pushing his shovel into the dirt. “One second. Sorry about your lawn, by the way, I was kind of, uh. Panicking. A lot. I’ll fill it in later, I promise.”

Techno waves a hand. “Eh, it’s fine. I’ll help you.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I’ll help you,” Techno repeats. He clears his throat awkwardly. “We can talk about, ah, voices. If you want to. Or have any questions.”

“Oh!” Ranboo smiles. “Yeah, that would be good, actually. I know it’s not really the same, but— yeah. Thanks, Techno.”

“Yep. No problem.”

Phil snorts as Ranboo finishes the rudimentary staircase and scrambles up. Phil and Techno follow after and all three of them walk towards the cabin together in comfortable if not slightly tense silence. Ranboo is still clearly anxious, bouncing and fidgeting with his hands like he’ll die if he stops moving, and Techno has been on edge ever since the words “hearing Dream’s voice” left the kid’s mouth, and his own voices are still pounding against this temples, but it’s fine. They’ll figure it out, and they’ll deal with the problem, and it’ll be fine.

It always is.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! comments and kudos are greatly appreciated 💛💛 I probably won't continue this fic, but we'll see what happens in canon. No promises, though.
> 
> some other notes:  
> 1) I am sticking with the enderman-ghast hybrid headcanon until canonically proven otherwise. Ranboo's tears are slightly pearly/silvery looking because they're like Really, Really watered-down ghast tears; there's enough water in them that it still burns him slightly when he cries. Technically, they _could_ be used to make potions, but the potions would be Very weak and almost definitely not worth it.
> 
> 2) Dream, Techno, and Phil are all gods in this. Dream is _technically_ the most powerful in this fic because it's set on his world, but in general, Phil is the most powerful of the three of them, as he's one of the oldest gods in the Universe. Dream is the god of manipulation, strife, and odds; Techno is the god of blood, violence, and reciprocity; Phil is the god of life, death, and creation. Also, gods have access to inventory, while mortals don't. Let me know if you have any more questions, because I would be happy to answer.


End file.
